Prior work into proteins and the incorporation of proteins into hair products naturally lead us to the exploration of amino acids and their effects on hair. Experimentation with many amino acids showed that Lysine, Glutamic acid and monosodium glutamate (MSG) were capable of hydrating the hair. Cost considerations led us to develop the use of monosodium glutamate in hair care products.
The effects shown are that lysine, glutamic acid and MSG reduced the forces required to stretch the hair. This was verified by Instron Testing, which is a commonly used tool of hair research. The Instron machine is a very sophisticated strain gauge that can be used to stretch hair in a very precise and controlled manner and to determine quantitatively how much force was used to stretch and break the hair fiber. Using a split fiber technique it was found that when the same hair fiber was treated with a product that contained lysine, glutamic acid, or MSG, it required less force to stretch it than when it was treated with a product that contained none of these compounds. This is a surprising finding, since known hair moisturizing agents do not show this effect even when used in much greater amounts. When less force is required to stretch the hair it is generally interpreted to mean that the hair is moisturized (hydrated), thereby making it more flexible. This increased flexibility makes the hair more resistant to breakage during combing.